Venkataraman Krishnamurthy (14 January 1925 – 26 June 2022) was an Indian civil servant. V. Krishnamurthy is known as the "Father of
Public sector undertakings in India" for his leadership and successful contribution in turning around
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is an Indian central public sector undertaking. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India. It is based in New Delhi, India. Established in 1956, BHEL is India' ...
(BHEL),
Maruti Udyog Limited
Maruti Suzuki India Limited, formerly known as Maruti Udyog Limited, is an Indian automobile manufacturer, based in New Delhi. It was founded in 1981 and owned by the Government of India until 2003, when it was sold to the Japanese automaker ...
(MUL),
Steel Authority of India Limited
Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is a central public sector undertaking based in New Delhi, India. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Steel, Government of India with an annual turnover of INR 1,03,480 Crore (US$13 billion) for fis ...
(SAIL), and
GAIL (India) Limited (GAIL) into the most profit making industry in India and globally. He was chairman and CEO of BHEL, MUL, SAIL, and GAIL. He was Chairman of IIM Bangalore and Ahmedabad; IIT Delhi; Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar; and the Centre for Organization Development, Hyderabad. He has also been Chairman of the Technology Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council. He was Member of the National Advisory Council from 2004 to 2008. Among other positions, he has served as Member, Planning Commission and Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Industry. He was the Chairman of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council, holding the rank of a Cabinet Minister up to 2014. He was one of the founding trustees of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation headed by
Sonia Gandhi with
Rahul Gandhi
Rahul Gandhi ( ; born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician and a member of the Indian Parliament, representing the constituency of Wayanad, Kerala in the 17th Lok Sabha. A member of the Indian National Congress, he served as the president o ...
,
Priyanka Gandhi
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (''née'' Gandhi; born 12 January 1972) is an Indian politician and the general secretary of the All India Congress Committee in charge of Uttar Pradesh. She is the daughter of former Prime minister of India Rajiv Gandhi ...
and other distinguished members as its trustees. He began working with the then Madras Electricity Board in 1944. Later he had the privilege of working directly with India's first Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
at the Planning Commission from 1954 in the Second Five Year plan incharge of power projects and then with former Prime Ministers
Lal Bahadur Sastri
Lal Bahadur Shastri (; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White R ...
,
Indira Gandhi,
Morarji Desai
Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995) was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the 4th Prime Minister of India between 1977 to 1979 leading the government formed by the Janata Party. During his ...
,
Rajiv Gandhi and
Manmohan Singh in various positions in the Government of India.
Early life
V Krishnamurthy was born on 14 January 1925 in the temple town Karuveli.
His initial V stands for his father's name Venkataraman. He had two brothers and three sisters –ten year elder brother Subamanian and two year younger brother Vaidyanathan. He married Rajam. He has two sons Jayakar and Chandra. He also had eight year elder sister Janaki Muthukrishnan, elder sister Valambal Venkataraman and younger sister Jayam Ramamurthy.
His grandfather was a wealthy landlord in his village Karuveli, in Thanjavur region. In 1930 due to floods in his village his family lost all the lands. They sold their house and left the village. He went with his mother to live with his uncle. His father went to Chennai to do business. His mother died when he was 11 years old. Because of their poor financial condition, his brothers had to discontinue education and go for employment. His eldest brother joined Southern Railways and another brother joined Kalki magazine as circulation manager.
Education
He did 3 year diploma in electrical engineering from CNT technical Institute in 1943. He passed competitive examination conducted by Union public services commission and joined Central Engineering Services in 1955. He held a Doctorate in Economics from the Soviet Academy of Sciences.
Career
V. Krishnamurthy was the Chairman of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) during 2004 – 2014 in the rank of a Cabinet Minister.
He was a member of
National Advisory Council
The National Advisory Council (NAC) of India was a unconstitutional body set up by the first United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to advise the Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh. Sonia Gandhi served as its chairperson for much of ...
during its first tenure.
Member, PM's Council on Trade & Industry.
Member, PM's Trade & Economic Relations Committee.
Member, PM's Energy Coordination Committee.
Member, PM's High Level Committee on Manufacturing.
Secretary to the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
in the Ministry of Industry (1977–1980).
Member,
Planning commission of India (1991–1992).
Chairman & CEO
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is an Indian central public sector undertaking. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India. It is based in New Delhi, India. Established in 1956, BHEL is India' ...
(BHEL) (1972–1977).
Founder Chairman & CEO
Maruti Udyog Limited
Maruti Suzuki India Limited, formerly known as Maruti Udyog Limited, is an Indian automobile manufacturer, based in New Delhi. It was founded in 1981 and owned by the Government of India until 2003, when it was sold to the Japanese automaker ...
(1981–1990).
Chairman & CEO
Steel Authority of India Limited
Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is a central public sector undertaking based in New Delhi, India. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Steel, Government of India with an annual turnover of INR 1,03,480 Crore (US$13 billion) for fis ...
(SAIL) (1985–1990).
Chairman & CEO
GAIL (India) Limited (GAIL) (1985–1990)
Founding Chairman, Technology Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council.
Co-chairman, Indo-Japan Study Committee.
Chairman of National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (N.C.P.E.D.P.).
Academic and professional associations
Chancellor,
Indian Maritime University.
Chancellor,
Central University of Tamil Nadu.
Chairman,
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (1982–1984).
Chairman,
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM Ahmedabad) is the world's number 1 business school, located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The school has been accorded the status of an Institute of National Importance by Ministry of Human Resourc ...
(1985–1990).
Chairman,
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi is a public institute of technology located in New Delhi, India. It is one of the 23 IITs created to be Centres of Excellence for training, research and development in science, engineering and technolo ...
(1990–1993).
Chairman,
Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar
Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB) is a premier Business School located in Bhubaneswar, the capital of the eastern Indian state of Odisha featuring regularly among the top 20 bschools in India. Established in the year 1987, XIMB ...
(1987–1992).
Member, Board of Governors, Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad (1975–1979) & (1990–2022).
Educational Works
Bharathidasan Institute of Management
In August 1984 Krishnamurthy met with
Bharat Ratna
The Bharat Ratna (; ''Jewel of India'') is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distinctio ...
,
Chidambaram Subramaniam and Professor
P. S. Manisundaram
P S Manisundaram (December 9, 1927 – October 26, 2013) was an Indian educationist and pioneer of computer science education. He was born in Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma). He graduated from Loyola College, Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. After ...
, Vice-Chancellor of
Bharathidasan University
Bharathidasan University (BDU) is a university in the city of Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located on Tiruchirappalli-Pudukkottai National Highway 336. It has affiliated colleges in the districts of Ariyalur district, Karur, Nag ...
, to develop the idea of establishing a management institute within the grounds of an industrial company. A partnership was signed with
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is an Indian central public sector undertaking. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India. It is based in New Delhi, India. Established in 1956, BHEL is India' ...
, leading to the formation of the
Bharathidasan Institute of Management
Bharathidasan Institute of Management, Tiruchirappalli (known by its abbreviation BIM-Trichy) is an Indian business school established in 1984 in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India. The school offers AICTE approved full-time MBA program, doctoral programs ...
.
Honors
Padma Shri
Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...
was conferred in the year 1973, for civil services category. This is the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
's fourth-highest civilian award.
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
was conferred in the year 1986 for civil services category. This is the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
's third-highest civilian award.
Padma Vibhushan
The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...
was conferred in the year 2007 for civil services category. This is the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
's second-highest civilian award.
He is the recipient of " The Grand Cordon of the
Order of the Rising Sun" in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the promotion of bilateral economic relations and understanding of Japan in India. H.M. The Emperor of Japan bestowed the Order on 3 November 2009.
He was conferred the Special Nakajima Award by JIPM in the year 2007 for his efforts to promote Total Productive Management (
TPM) Initiative in India.
Business Leadership Award In 1975.
Businessman of the Year Award in 1987.
Steelman of the Year Award in 1989.
Lifetime Achievement Award in Management given by AIMA for the Year 2005.
Personal life and death
Krishnamurthy was married and had two children. He died from age-related ailments on 26 June 2022 at his home in Chennai. He was aged 97.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krishnamurthy, V.
1925 births
2022 deaths
Indian civil servants
Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in civil service
Tamil civil servants
Administrators of Mahe
Members of the Planning Commission of India
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in civil service
Recipients of the Padma Shri in civil service
Fellows of the American Physical Society